Review: The Virgin Huntress by Victoria Vane

From the Back Cover:

Lady Vesta Chambers is accustomed to getting what she wants…

Coddled and pampered since her mother's death, Lady Vesta Chambers is beside herself when her father goes to London to prepare for her come-out and returns with a young bride of his own. With her world turned upside down, Vesta accompanies her godmother, Diana, to town, where she is smitten the moment she lays eyes on a certain captain of the Seventeenth Light Dragoons.

But when the object of her passion has eyes for another…

Captain Hewett DeVere, younger brother and heir to Viscount Ludovic "The Devil" DeVere, has returned from the American war scarred, disillusioned, and looking forward to settling down to a quiet and respectable life. But when the handsome and straight-laced captain turns his eyes toward the widowed Diana, Vesta is prepared to take devilish measures to prove she is no longer a little girl, but a woman with the passion of … a huntress.

My Thoughts:

You may remember that I really enjoyed the first novella in this series, A Wild Night's Bride, and The Virgin Huntress picks up pretty much where that story left off, although the focus has shifted to Ned's daughter, Vesta. Vesta is very young and inexperienced, but when she decides she wants something, she lets nothing stand in her way. She wants to go to London for her coming-out season. She wants to experience all that life has to offer. She wants to find a good husband. And after one look at Captain Hew DeVere, she decides he's going to be the one. Small problem, though. Well, actually two. One, he's a much older man. Two, he's trying to win the heart of Vesta's chaperone, her lovely but untouchable godmother Diana. He's gallant, respectful, honorable, and completely blind to Vesta's attempts to catch his eye . . . poor thing. He hasn't a clue what's about to hit him. Hurricane Vesta has come to town.

Orchestrating damsel-in-distress rescues? Kidnapping? Imprisonment? Blackmailing her godfather into helping her? None of these are too much if it means Vesta gets what she wants, and she's determined to have Captain Hew. The plan she sets in motion and the tactics she employs are outrageous and over-the-top, but they are so undeniably true to her character that I couldn't help but be swept right along with Hew, a smile on my face the whole way. And of course, her plans bear fruit. At first understandably angry and appalled, it doesn't take Hew long to realize that a woman who would go to such lengths to prove her loyalty and undying affection to a man may be a woman worth keeping. And when passions ignite in one of the sweetest (and hottest) love scenes I've read in quite a while, Hew realizes that Vesta is what he really needed all along.

The next two installments in the series are finally going to focus on the man who got the whole thing started, the Devil DeVere, and I can't wait to read about the history between him and Diana and how they will work past their seemingly insurmountable differences toward a happily ever after!

My Rating: 4 Stars out of 5

*Please Note: Though I received a copy of this book for review from the author, these are my honest thoughts and opinions and I was not compensated in any other way.